Phoenix, Arizona will now have safer streets for walking and biking, ensuring all people can get safely to where they need to go – work, school, the library, grocery stores, and more. As the city population is expected to nearly double over the next 30 years, the Phoenix City Council identified a ballot initiative to increase the sales tax for transportation initiatives from 4/10 of a cent to 7/10 of a cent to fund improvements, including bike lanes and sidewalks. The Move Phoenix Coalition (MovePHX), including AARP, American Heart Association, Arizona Public Health Association, Arizona State University, and many others, encouraged support of the proposition through education, grassroots efforts, and press events.

The ballot initiative, Proposition 104, passed with 55% of the popular vote supporting the increase in the tax.As a result of the vote, approximately $16.7 billion is expected to be generated over the life of the tax, with a significant portion of this revenue being spent on walking and biking infrastructure. Half of the dollars are slated to go to improving and maintaining public transportation service throughout the city, while 7% of the dollars are slated to fund street improvements including 680 miles of new asphalt on major streets, 1,080 new miles of bike lanes,135 miles of new sidewalks, and 2,000 new streets lights. Learn more about complete streets initiatives.

October 2016